The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday ordered an inquiry after jailed separatist leader Asiya Andrabi’s signature veiled image appeared in a collage of 12 prominent women achievers. The child development project officer (CDPO) Kokernag has already been placed under suspension.

The central government’s flagship Integrated Child Development Scheme is currently holding a weeklong campaign throughout the state to promote the Save Girl program and during tourism department’s one-day festival at scenic Kokernag on Wednesday, the ICDS had put up a banner at the Dak Bungalow, the venue of the festival.

Several law makers of ruling PDP which is running a coalition government with BJP and officials from army, police and civil administration were present at the campaign launch on Wednesday.

“Pending inquiry, CDPO Breng Kokernag is placed under suspension with immediate effect,” reads the suspension order issued by district magistrate Anantnag.

The Social Welfare Department is headed by Minister Sajjad Gani Lone.

The banner put the state government to huge embarrassment forcing Lone to clarify that that the DeM chief was not a role model for women in Jammu and Kashmir or elsewhere.

Reacting on the controversy, Lone said “the person responsible for this goof up has been immediately placed under suspension and an inquiry has been ordered against her for the misconduct.”

In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Lone said the publicity wing of the department works in decentralized format and CDPOs devise their own publicity campaign which doesn’t require approval of the higher authorities.

“The CDPO in question has committed a grievous error of judgment by including Ms Asiya Andrabi in the list of distinguished women achievers of the country,” he said.

“In any case, the department unambiguously states that Ms Asiya Andrabi is not a role model neither for the women of Jammu and Kashmir nor elsewhere in the world,” said Lone, a BJP nominee in the PDP-BJP coalition government.

“She at best is an aberration, representing the aimless fringe afflicting societies across the world,” Sajad Lone said.